[mrf0151]

Originally Posted by dhdallas

I would never buy a gas cart. I have a 23 year old electric Club Car. I installed 4 12v Lithium batteries and it will go all day without a recharge. There are very few parts to go wrong on an electric cart and almost no maintenance. Not only are the gas carts noisy & polluting, you need to either store smelly flammable gas in your garage or make trips in the cart to the gas station. My neighbor had their gas cart leak on their garage floor last year & you can still smell it. Gas cart engines are complex and need frequent maintenance. I am always seeing gas carts broke down on the trail but have never seen an electric cart in trouble. Pay no attention to the people who think that all lithium batteries are fire hazards. The media just likes to focus on the rare catastrophes for their shock value. Today's golf carts use quality cells in their batteries with built-in charging management to prevent over heating & over charging which can lead to a fire. Many people suffer from range-anxiety and are afraid of running out of juice. Believe me, unless you are doing a 24 hour run, the electric carts will run from one end of TV to the other with juice left over. My next car will be electric also.

Interesting that you have never seen an electric cart in trouble. I was in the golf cart industry for 10 years and 90some percent of the rescues were electric carts. Do you not live in The Villages?

[mrf0151]

Originally Posted by MorTech

The Samsung SDI lithium battery in the EZGO Elite uses Samsung INR18650-29E7 cells and should have a calendar life of at least 12 years.

EZGO Elite / Samsung SDI for Techies

The EZGO Elite has a bit of a stiff ride that can be mitigated by keeping tire pressure below 18 PSI. It does feel a little tippy in corners...the motor brakes are excellent with no pads to wear out.

The 2004 Prius has a nickel metal hydride battery...Not lithium.

Great points you make. The one about the ride and handling is why once you drive the car like ride and handling of the Yamaha Quiet Tech, it is hard to love the ride and handling of any other golf cart. Yamaha's do not lean on turns/cornering and take the bumps much nicer. Each to their own but for my money I love the safety of the Yamaha's.

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by mrf0151

Interesting that you have never seen an electric cart in trouble. I was in the golf cart industry for 10 years and 90some percent of the rescues were electric carts. Do you not live in The Villages?

I'm sure that's why golf courses stopped buying gasoline golf carts ... so they could have more breakdowns.

If you want 1970's technology (when they went from 3 wheels to 4 wheels), buy gas powered.

If you want something with technology developed in the last 40 years, go electric.

[Nucky]

Other than Atomic or The Villages Golf Carts where have any of you had luck purchasing a Lithium Golf Cart within a 50-mile radius of The VILLAGES? I'm ready to go but can't find a dealer that anyone can recommend. I really appreciate the helping hand. Someone sent me to Safer Wholesale. Without saying too much, that's a NO-GO! H. E. L. P.

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by Nucky

Other than Atomic or The Villages Golf Carts where have any of you had luck purchasing a Lithium Golf Cart within a 50-mile radius of The VILLAGES? I'm ready to go but can't find a dealer that anyone can recommend. I really appreciate the helping hand. Someone sent me to Safer Wholesale. Without saying too much, that's a NO-GO! H. E. L. P.

Call William, Sam or Tom at Sunrise Golf Carts in Ocala. The BEST! I needed some service last month on my Star. I called them at 8 am. They picked up my cart in The Villages and had it back to me, by 4 pm.

I saved about $4000 buying from them, rather than buying in The Villages.

(352) 509-7293

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by BrianL99

I'm sure that's why golf courses stopped buying gasoline golf carts ... so they could have more breakdowns.

If you want 1970's technology (when they went from 3 wheels to 4 wheels), buy gas powered.

If you want something with technology developed in the last 40 years, go electric.

Home in MD, all of the county public courses use Yamaha Gas carts...

Just two days ago, I asked the starter why they haven't switched to electric...

His response" "The gas carts just work... And that it would cost a lot of $$$ to retrofit all of the cart shacks with the power to charge electric carts..."

[MorTech]

Originally Posted by mrf0151

Great points you make. The one about the ride and handling is why once you drive the car like ride and handling of the Yamaha Quiet Tech, it is hard to love the ride and handling of any other golf cart. Yamaha's do not lean on turns/cornering and take the bumps much nicer. Each to their own but for my money I love the safety of the Yamaha's.

The Yamaha QuieTech is an excellent cart and the only gas cart I would even consider.

[MorTech]

Originally Posted by Hacker1

MorTech, Do you have a predicted calendar life for Star Lithium batteries? I understand that they incorporate Iron Phosphate chemistry. How is that different from SDI? I've read somewhat recently that Iron Phosphate is the best for lithium batteries... However, understand that technology may be changing rapidly in some respects. Anyway, I'd appreciate getting your perspective on this..

The LFP battery chemistry has a more robust cell structure and will endure more charge cycles and is much less prone to thermal runaway. The calendar life of a modern LFP prismatic should be >15 years but depends on heat and the electrolyte. In a golf cart, the designed current I/O is small so calendar life will be greater due to less internal heat. I built a 120ah (usable) LFP pack for my cart a few years ago and no problems so far.

The EZGO Elite (Samsung SDI) is NMC lithium chemistry. I think LFP batteries are best for golf cart applications even though the energy density is lower, LFP are more durable. The Star, Atlas, Evolution, and Yamaha PowerTech(Roypow) use LFP.

[MorTech]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Shoelaces

I would like to know also.
On top of the Star battery is a placard that says to charge it after every use.
Why?

Dunno...It really is not necessary but running a LFP battery down to zero might ruin them...that is probably what they are afraid of. It is good to charge lithium batteries full every night.